Machine for making lock sliders for separable fasteners



MACHINE FOR MAKING LOCK SLIDERS FOR SEPARABLE FASTENERS Filed neg. 22,195s l ATTORNEYS Dec. l, 1942. 2,303,748. MACHINE Fm MAKING Lock SLIDERsFOR SEPARABLE FASTENERS M. H. LANGE Filed Dec. 22, 1939 2 sheets-sheet'2 wn-N Ess aff/f functions.

Patented 'Dec. 1, 1942 MACHINE FOR MAKING LOCK SLIDERS FOB. SEPARABLEFASTENEBS Max n. Lange. New York, N. Y., assirncr, to

Waldes Koh-I-Noor, Inc., New York, N. Y., a. corporation of New York IApplication December 22, 1939, Serial No. 310,503

7 Claims. (Cl. 113-1) This invention relates to machines for use in themanufacture of locksliders for fastener structures of the type in whichopposed rows of ilexibly mounted locking elements are formed to beprogressively interlocked and disengaged by the movements of the sliderlongitudinally of the rows. The invention relates more particularly to amachine for forming and setting a spring member adapted to control thelocking element of the slider in a shell or housing to which the pulltab of the slider is pivotally connected.

The object of the present'invention is to provide an improvedinstrumentality which will materially reduce the number of operationshereto-v fore required in forming and setting the spring members in theshells and which will perform its Work satisfactorily and quickly and ata materially reduced cost.

Prior to this invention, itwas customary tccut the spring member' intoproper form from a stripv of metal, then bend it into the shape requiredto perform its functions in the shell, then temperr the formed piece of-spring metal, then place it in the shell or housing and clamp it to theshell with a tool adapted to form Iburrs on the interior surfaces of theshell and nally to make sure that the spring member was lined11p-properly within the shell to enable it to satisfactorily perform itsAccording to the present invention the spring member is made from astrip of spring hard metal and the machine isso constructed that thespring member is simultaneously cut and formed into proper shape by aprogressive stamping operation and directly deposited in place in theshell or housing member, thus accomplishing fby one continuous operationwhat was formerly accomplished in five separate operations.

The' invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig.1 is a side elevational `view-ofthe entire machine, the lower portionthereof being shown .in central longitudinal section land the parts ofthe machine being shown in the positions they will have during theloading operation; Fig. 2 is a planview of the lower portion of themachine looking alongv the line 2-2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a partialelevational view simthe blank or strip after the spring members havebeen formed therefrom. I

Before entering into a description of the machine, it is believed to beadvisable to first consider the structure of the article for whosemanufacture the machine wasdevised. The slider o! a separable fastenerstructure, as is Well known, includes a pair of plates spacedto receivethe interlocking elements of the fastener. In the type of slider forwhich the machine of this invention was devised, and forms of which areshown and described in my pending application Serial No. 276,829, filedJune 1, 1939, there is provided a shell or housing member on one of theslider plates, generally the top or-front plate, and within which isloosely positioned a locking member having a detent at one end adaptedto project into an aperture in such plate; The locking member isnormally maintained in locking position by means of' a spring memberwhich is secured at one end intermediate the shell or hous- Iing memberand a stud provided on the associated front plate of the slider. Atypical spring member is designated generally in Figs. 5 and 6 of thedrawings by the numeral Ill, such spring member being-provided -with aroot portion secured in place within the shell or housing member I I anda finger portion which is adapted to bear against -slider in theassembled condition of the parts.

The spring member I0 has a width of approximatelytg of an inch and athickness of 6 to 7AM' of an inch 'and has a curved coniiguration whichy enables it to be positioned up against the interior ilar to Fig. 1showing the relation of the parts' at the end of the downward movementof` the cutting and positioning members: Fig. 4 `is va perspective viewof the bed plate for the die members; Fig. 5 is an inner front vi'ew onan enlarged scale of the housingorshell into which the spring member ispositioned by the device; Fig. 6 is a i l central longitudinal sectionof the parts shown in Fig. 5 and 7 is a plan view of aporti'on ofsurfaces'of the shell or housing member II in the region of its rootportion and enables the ilnger portion thereof to extend away from theshell into engagement with the locking member so as to maintain thelatter normally in lockingA engagement with the locking elements of thefastener structure. The locking member I Il is secured to the shell I Iby means of two opposed extensions I2 which are integral with the rootportion of such member and are positioned in slots. I3 provided in theinterior side walls of the housing member, as is illustrated in Figs. 5and 6 o! manently secured to the sliderplate 'I'he other hereinafterbecome more clear.

end of the housing member is secured in any 2,sos,v4s e verse pin :lwhich functions as a stop to limit l the longitudinal movement of themember 22 in -one direction and engages with the adjacent end of thebody portion I1 of the bed- I 5 when the tending side ilanges I9, I9between which the female die plate 53 and a superimposed guide plate 52and sliding member 65 are positioned, as will The body portion I1 of thedie plate is provided with a centrally disposed longitudinally extendingslot which extends throughout the entire length of such body portion.Between the extensions I8, I8 is a web 2i whose upper surface is in thesame horizontal plane as the bottom wall of the slot 20. The parts I1 to2| of the bed I6 of the machine preferably are integrally formed from asingle piece of suitable metal as is illustrated in Fig. 4 of thedrawings.

Positioned within the s1ot.2IJ is a slidable member 22 having a depthonly slightly smaller than the depth of the slot 20 and a lengthsubstantially longer than the length of the body portion I1 of the diebed, as is shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings. Intermediate its ends,the member 22 is provided with a cavity or recess 23 which is of a shapeconforming to that of the shell II so that the latter may be readilyseated therein. The member.22 is provided at one end with a handle 24 bywhich it may be moved by the operator longitudinally'in the slot to aposition to load a shell member II in` the cavity 23 or to bring thecavity together with the shell into proper position beneath thestationary female die 53, in position to receive a spring member I0forced through the female die by the male die member 25, or to permitthe operator to unload the assembled shell and spring member. Theposition of the member 22 and cavity 23 for the loading operation isshown in Fig. 1 of the drawings', the cavity 23 being closely adjacentto the left hand end of the flange members I9. as viewed in such figure,and between the adjacent ends of the body portion I1 so that such endstogether with the cavity 23 form a pocket into which the housing shellII may be readily placed by the operator. In the loading position of theslidable member 22, a spring pressed ball 21 engages with an aperture 28provided in the slidable member 22 to releasably hold such member inproper position for the loading operation. ll'he ball 21 is positionedat the inner end of a transverse pas-V sageway 29 provided in the bodyportion I1 of the die bed (see Fig. 2) and is normally pressed intoengagement with the adjacent side surface of the member 22 by means of aspring 30 which is contained within such passageway 29 and is seated atits outer end against a screw plug 3I threadedly engaged with the outerend of the passageway 29.

, By pushing the handle 24 inwardly, the cavity 23 together with theshell II loaded therein is advanced to the dotted line position shown inFig. 1 and the full line position shown in Fig. 3 so that they aredisposed in proper position beneath the die opening of the female diemember 53. The slidable member 22 is provided intermediate the cavity 23and handle 24 with a transcavity 23 is properly positioned beneath theopening of the female die 53, as is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.After the male die has deposited and secured a spring member III withinthe housing or shell II, the handle 24 is pulled by the operator tobring the slidable member 22 toa position beyond the end of the bodyportion l1 of the die where the assembled housing and spring member canbe readily removed by the operator, as is shown by the dotted lineposition of the slidable member 22 of Fig. 2 of the drawings. Theslidable member 22 is provided at its other end with a transverse pin 42which engages 'with the ends of the body portion I1 of the die adjacentto the web 2I thereof to limit movement of such member in this directionand to maintain the parts in assembled condition against inexperthandling.

The male die 25 includes a shank portion 34 which extends through a headblock/32 secured In the adjusted position of the male die, the

shank portions 34 and 35 thereof are secured to the head block -32 andthe actuating head 33, respectively, by means of the set screws 38 and31, respectively. The actuating head 33 may form part of a treadle whichis actuated by the operator to raise and lower such head andconsequently the male die 25 or may be connected to suitable mechanismfor automatic intermittent operation of the actuating head 33 and maledie 25 and in this connection the slidable member 22 may be alsoarranged for automatic intermittent operation as will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art. Also secured to the head block 32is a depending positioning member 39 which is fork-shaped at its lowerend and straddles the slidable member 22, the fork 40 of the positioningmember 39 having a thickness less than the fork 4I thereof to enable itto straddle the strip 53 tion below the female die just prior to thetime that the malediie 25 deposits the stamped spring member in thehousing-I I, the beveled lower ends of the forks 40 and 4I of thepositioning member 39 will engage with and force the transverse pin 42to a position where the parts willbe in proper alignment with thetransverse pin 23 up against the other end of the body portion I1 of thedie bed. `as is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.`

Means are provided for preventing the descent of the male die member 25and positioning member 39 in the event that the transverse pin 42 is notsufficiently advanced to enable it to be engaged by the positioningmember 39 toprop erly position the socket 23 beneath the female die.This means comprises a pair of links 43 which are pivotallymounted attheir upper ends on the head block 32 and are connected at their lowerends by a transverse plate 44. Intermediate their ends the links 43 areprovided with a pair of inwardly extending opposed pins 45 which in theretracted position of the male die member 25 with the plate 45 upagainst the ends of the die bed extensions I8, overlie the legs 48, 48formed by a slot in a covering plate 49 in the region of the extensionsI8, I8 of the body portion of the die bedas is shown in Fig. 1 ofthedrawings. is the normal position of the parts 43, 44 and 45 in theloading and unloading positions of the slidable member 22. When' themember 22 is advanced by the operator to position the socket 23 belowthe female die, the end of such member engages with the cross plate 44and pivots the links 43 outwardly to the dotted line position shown inFig. 1 of the drawings, a distance sufilcient to enable the opposed pins45 to clear the ends of the legs 48 of the covering plate 49 and therebyremove any obstruction to the downward movement of the male die 25 andthe positioning member 39. Should the operator, however, fail to pushthe member 22 in suiliciently to cause This a clearance of the pins andconsequently to enable the positioning member 39 to properly engage withthe transverse pin 42, the pins 45 will engage with the legs 48 of thecovering platev ing its dieing operation. The links 43 and thetransverse plate 44 are normally maintained in the position shown infull lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings by means ofa coiled spring 46 whichis attached at one end to one of the links 43 and is connected at itsother end to a threaded screw 41 mounted on one of the side surfaces ofthe body portion I1 of the die, as is shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and3 of the drawings.

In the downward movement of the male die 25, the lower 'working endthereof enters a pair of aligned apertures 50 and 5I which are providedin the guide plate 52 and the female die plate 53, respectively (seeFigs. 1 and 3). The apertures 50 and 5I have a shape similar to thatindicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings and conform to the outlines of theworking end of the male die 25 and of the spring element I0 punched fromthe strip v 59 which is fed intermediate such plates. The female dieplate 53 is a stationary plate being fixedly secured in position to thebody portion I1 of the die by means of vertically disposed bolts 54, asis shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. of the drawings. The guide plate52, however, is adjustably mounted on the female die plate 53 by meansof a pair of clamps 55 which vare secured to the flange portions I9 ofthe die bed I6, as by means of bolts, and project inwardly beyond suchflange portions I9 to engage the exterior surface of the guide plate 52as is shown more clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings. On the undersurfaceof the female die member 53 there is provided a longitudinally extendingrecess or slot 56 into which the upwardly projecting lug I5 on thehousing II enters as the slidable member 22 is pushed by the operator toits advanced position in the die bed (see Fig. 3 of the drawings).

The strip 59 from which the spring members Ill are punched is composedof spring hard metal and is preferably twice the width of the springelements I0 to be out therefrom, approximately 1% of an inch, (see Fig.7) as that width of strip 75 has been found to be more convenienttohandle and more practical in the manufacture of such elements than astrip half that width. 'I'he strip 59 is fed from a roll or reel whichis revolvably mounted on an axle member 60 provided ina casing 6I, downa feed slot or guideway provided between the support 62 for the casing6I and a longitudinally extending cover plate 63, through a guide slot58 provided in the adjustable guide plate 52 and into a guideway 51formed intermediate the female die plate 53 and the guide plate 52 and aU-shaped latchplate 65. The several guideways are so formed that whenth'e strip 59 is positioned between'theI die holes 50 and 5I only onehalf of the strip will be uncovered by such holes, such half 4of thestrip directly overlying the slidable member 22', as is shown moreclearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The latch plate is slidably mountedintermediate the female die 53 and the cover plate 49, the legs thereofoverlying the longitudinallysextending leg portions 64, 64 of the femaledie plate 53 and together with the latter are mounted between thelongitudinal fianges I9, I9 of the die bed I6 and intermediate theextensions I8, I8 of such die bed and the legs 48 of the cover plate 49.The body portion of the latch plate 65 is provided 'with a centrallongitudinally extending extension 66 adapted to enter a slot 61provided in the inner Yend of the guide plate 52.

Carried within a recess on the outer end of the extension 66 of thelatch plate 65 is a feeding pawl 69 whose free end is directed away fromthe male die member 25 and is adapted to engage with the straightforward 'end of an aperture produced in the strip 59 by punching. out aspring member I0. The pawl 69.is biased for engagement with suchaperture by means of a spring pressed pin 'I0 which extends through anaperture in the extension 66 into engagement with the-pawl. The head ofthe pin 'Ill is contained within a casing lor block 12 suitably mountedon the extension 66, as by screws and within which is also contained thespring 1I lfor resiliently pressing the pin into engagement with thepawl 69. The pawl 69 is normally maintained in a position adjacent tothe 4guide hole 50 of the guide plate 52, by means of a pair oflongitudinally extending springs 14, 14 which are attached at one end tothe binder posts 13, 13 which depend downwardly from the latch plate 65into the space between the extensions I8 of the die bed and on each sideof the slidable member 22. The other ends of the springs 14, 14 areconnected to binder posts 15 secured to the underside of the female dieplate 53 just above the web 2| of the die bed I6. When the slidablemember 22 is pushed inwardly by the operator to position the cavity 23beneath the die holes 5U and 5I, the transverse pin 42 thereof engageswith the binding posts 13 to retract the latch plate 65) against thetension of springs 14, 14 and thereby cause the pawl 69 throughv itsengagement with an aperture in the strip 59 to move thel stripsufiiciently to bring a new portion thereof beneath the male die 25, asis shown in' Fig. 3 of the draw.

ings. The range of movement of the member 2'2 is justvsuicient so thatwhen the pin 26 engages l with the adjacent end of the die bed. thestrip 59 will have been 4moved a distance approximately equal to thelength of one spring member I0.

From the Vforegoing description it is believed to be apparent thatvwhenthe slidable member 22 is in the position shown in full lines in ',Fig.1 of the drawings, the cavity 23 thereof is disposed between theadjacent ends of the walls forming the slot 20 so that a pocket isformed which is readily accessible to the operator for the placement ofa shell or housing member Il therein. In this position of the member 22,the male die 25 and positioning member 39 are in raised position and theplate 44 is engaging with the ends of the extensions i8 of the die bedI5 under the tension of spring-46 so that the stop pins 45 overlie thelegs 48 ofthe covering plate 43. The pawl 69 is positioned closelyadjacent the hole 53 o'f the guide plate 52 with its free endrlatched,under the influence of the spring pressed pin 13. with an apertureformed in the strip 59 by the male die 25 during the punching strokewhich preceded the last, the aperture formed by the last punching strokebeing stillfin alignment with the die holes 50 and 5I. -When theoperator has placed a shell II in the cavity 23 he pushes the slidingmember 22 inwardly until the pin 25 thereof abuts against the adjacentend of the die bed I6, 'at which occurrence the cavity 23 together withthe shell I I is positioned below the aligned die holes 50 and 5I.During this inward movement of the sliding member 22 the pin 42 thereofengages with the depending binding posts 13 to shift the latching plate65 towards the other end of the die and thereby cause the pawl 69 tofeed the strip 59 a sufficient amount to bring an unblanked portionthereof between the die holes 50 and 5|. The adjacent end of the member22 during this movement also engages with the plate 44 and through thelatter swings the links 43 outwardly a suillcient distance to enable thestop pins 45, 45 toV clear the end of the die on the next downwardmovement of the die head 33. The die head 33 then commences its downwardstroke, the working end of the male die 25 entering the guide hole 50and coming into engagement with the portion of the strip uncovered bysuch hole. It will be observed from Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, thatthe lower face of the male die 25 has an inclined portion 15 and aninclined portion 11 which converge towards an advanced rounded apexportion 18. Thus when the male die 25 is advanced, the apex portion 18of the working face thereof willinitially engage the strip 59 and thelatter will be progres-v sively cut in opposite directions by thesurface portions 16 and 11 thereof. By this operation the spring memberI is bent at the same time that it is cut out of the strip to itscorrect form. As the male die further advances the cut spring member I0is forced through the die'hole 5I of the female die 53 and deposited bythe male die previous stroke of the male die 25. After unloading theassembled shell .and spring member, the operator pushes the slidingmember 22 inwardlyuntii the spring pressed ball 21 again engages withthe aperture 28 thereof, the parts being then ready for the next cycleof operations.

As the,rstrip 59 is discharged from the machine' it is wound up so thatwhen it is again placed in the casing the uncut edge portionthereof willbe fed between the die holes 50 and 5I. At the start of this new seriesof cuttings, the rst cut is preferably made so that the second row ofapertures will be staggered with -relation to those 0f' the first row,as is shown in Fig. 'I of the drawings.

While with the foregoing description I have described a preferredembodiment of the invention,it will be evident to those skilled in theart, that modifications and changes may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as is set forth in the appendedclaims.

. I claim:

1. The combination of a female die, a slidable member having a recessadapted to receive a shell andV movable relative to said female die ina. direction transversely of the male-diereceiving aperture of thefemale die to position the recess thereof beneath such aperture, a, maledie adapted to coact with said female die to .punch a, blank froml astrip of material and to tioning member carried by said slidable memberin the'shell II, the extensions I2 of the member I0 being forced intothe slots I3 and up against the end of the shell. As has been previouslyexplained, the positioning member 33 during the downwardmovement of themale die 25 engages the transverse pin 42 in advance of the cuttingoperation and correctly positions' and locks the member 2 2 in aposition where the shell II .will-'be correctly positioned for receivingthe spring member I0. When the die 25 iswithdrawn the operator pulls themember 22' with the assistance of spring 43 to 'the dotted line positionshown in Fig. 2, where the assembled shell and spring member can bereadily removed. During this outward movement of the membe `22, theplate 44-and connected links 43, 43 and pins 45,' 45 return to theirnormal positions and the latching plate 35 under the influence ofsprings 14, .14 returns to a position where the pawl 33 will .engagewith an aperture produced by the and means movable with said male dieand adapted to coact with said positioning member during the punchingstroke of said male die to correctly position the recess of saidslidable member with relation to said female die prior to the deliveryof the cut blank into the shell carried by the recess of 'said slidablemember.

2. The combination such as dened in claim 1,

'in which said positioning member consists of a pin mounted on saidslidable member and ex' I tending transverselythereto, and saidcoacting.

means comprises a depending fork-shaped member, the forks of whichstraddle said slidable member and have inclined camming surfaces attheir lower ends adapted to interengage with said transverse pin to movesaid slidable member into proper position for .the assembling operation.

3. The combination of a female die, a slidable member having a recessadapted to receive a shell and adapted to be moved relative to saidfemale die in a ldirection transversely of the male-diereceivingaperture of the female die to position the recess thereof beneath suchaperture, a male die adapted to coact with said female die to punch ablank from a strip of material and to v deposit it at the end of itspunching stroke in a -female die, said means being connectedto fcontrolled by said slidable member.

- 4. The combination of a female die, means for feeding a strip ofmetallic material to said die. means for delivering a shell beneath themaledie-reoeiving aperture lof the female die, and a male die adapted tocoact with said female die to punch a blank from the strip of materialand to deposit 'it at the end of its plmching stroke into the shellpositioned beneath the aperture of the female die. the working end ofsaid male die having an intermediate advanced Working portion located inthe central region of said working end and tapering away from eitherside of such portion to cause said die to progressively cut the blankfrom the strip and at the same `time and *during such cutting action tobend the metallic material of said blank to a predetermined shape priorto its insertion into the shell.

5. The combination of a femalel die, a slidable member underlying saidfemale die and having a recess in its upper surface adapted to receive ashell, said member being movable longitudinally forward and backward indirections trans-` able memberand operable by said slidablemem-l verselyof the male-die-receiving aperture of the female die and adapted to beadvanced from a place for loading a shell into the recess thereof to aposition where the recess thereof is positioned beneath such aperture,stop means for limiting the forward movement of said slidable member ata point where the recess thereof will vbe positioned directly beneaththe, aperture of said female die, and a male die adapted to c'oact withsaid female die when the recess of said slidable member is positionedbeneath the aper-A ture of said female die, to punch a blank from astrip of material and to deposit it at the end of its punching strokeinto a shell carried by said thereof beneath such aperture, a male dieadapted to coact with said female die to punch a blank from a strip ofmaterial and to deposit it /at the end of its punching stroke into ashell carried by said slidable member, fixed means provided on saidfemale die to stop the movement of a move 1 lable member, a movablemember connected t6 said male die and adapted normally to coact withsaid stop means to prevent the operation of said male die, and meansconnected to said movber to cause said movable member to be moved to aposition where it 'will not coact with said stop means.

Y v'1. The combination of a female die, a slidable member having arecess adapted to receive a shell and movable relative to said femaledie in a direction transversely .of -the male-die-receiving aperture ofthe female die to position the recessV thereof beneath such aperture, amale die adapted to coac't withfsaid female die to punch a ,blank from`a strip of material and to deposit it atfthe end of its punching strokeinto a shell carried by said slidablemember, xed means provided onAs'aid female die to stop the movement of a stop member, a pivotallymounted member connected Awith saidmale die, a stop member carried bysaid slidable member, the working end of said male Y die having anadvanced VVworking portion. and tapering away from either side of suchportion to cause the die to progressively cut the blank from thestripandat the same time bend it to'axpredetermined shape.

. 6. The combination of a female die, a slidable member having a recessadapted to receive a shell and movable relative to said female die in adlrecti'on transversely of the male-diereceiving aperture of the femaledie to position the recess pivotally mounted member and adapted to coactMAX LANGE.

